Ok, I’ve narrowed it down to 3-4 Carts in the $100-150 range.
The Grado Blue
Nagaoka MP-110
Sumiko Pearl MM
Audio-Technica VM95EN (Nude Stylus)
And I ran across this Cart the Vessel A3SE
It seems to have decent reviews but not very popular on Amazon for what that’s worth…And I’m not familiar with the name either…
I thought I was sold on the Nagaoka MP-11 but the reviews are saying don’t buy unless you have VTA. Of course I do not.
The Sumiko-Pearl Has quite a few issues with “Tracking towards the inner part of the record”. Sry I forgot what it’s called.
The Audio Technica, is the only one with a Nude Stylus but many say it’s a bright Cart among other things…
And the Grado has some sort of interference with the AC motor when it tracks towards the center and creates a noise.
So I’m pulling my hair out! I really wanted the Sumiko or Nagaoka but now I don’t know what to do!
FYI, the stylus I have has a Nude stylus but isn’t made anymore and there’s very little info on it.
How much of a differ does it make?
What would you do?
Here are some links for ya!
For me it comes down to the rest of the system. Most modern amps and speakers can sound decent with a digital source but can sound hellish bright when playing vinyl. You can set up a system that sounds good with vinyl but it might then sound dull as hell playing CD’s.
It’s not easy to get the same system to sing with both, it’s possible but not usually without spending big on high end kit. It all depends on your own personal taste/standards and expectations in the end.
If modern carts sound too bright in your system i recommend trying a Denon DL-110 high output MC. I used to recommend the DL-160 which is my all time favorite but is no longer available. It was the broadcasting industry’s go to for a long time for a good reason. The DL-110 is very close though.
I’ve got a “decent” system, nothing to brag about but ok though. The frt mains are Axiom Audio M60’s, with M3’s, M22’s and M8’s. They seem to be middle of the range…
The receiver is just a Onkyo 705 and 636 but I like the 705 better. The TT is a 40 year old Toshiba, direct drive still working fine, not VTA though.
I might settle on this Cart
I do have a pre-amp but I’m returning it due to no volume control whilst using headphones though.
It’s a Rolls V29 and sounds alright deff made a differ, no pre-amp in TT.
So I’m going to get either this one or the one below it…Just can’t figure out why the bottom one is $25 more than the first one.?.
I have the V29 ATM and it’s fine but no volume control.
An RIAA filter network is usually built into the circuit on phono preamps. I’ve had quite a few and built a couple. Had a tube one from icon audio for a bit, not worth the hype imo.
I think there can be differences between kit made for the US market and the UK/European one. Most of our modern kit sounds bright to me. I once read some guff about it being because most US homes are timber construction with larger room sizes on average while ours are usually small gloomy brick boxes
This came from high end audio buffs, some of them will believe almost anything but that said the differences between say McIntosh and Quad amplification does tend to back it up. The McIntosh will have a much higher power output and will sound warm in comparison to a Quad amp from the same price range.
Yeah both of those have RIAA, but the one on the bottom has a filter. Not sure that the one on the top does…
I just liked the flexibility of the first one.
You wont like me for this but for me anyway it comes down to system matching. Things like the “signature” sound from different manufacturers kit when mixed up together. What is the overall effect etc. If you play a bright sounding source through a bright sounding amp and speakers it will sound bloody awful lol. Also is it all electrically matching (impedance) which is important. Most important of all is personal taste, you can spend thousands and i have done but if you don’t get the sound your after you can spend forever box swapping.
The only way to really know if a piece of kit will suit your system is to try it i’m afraid. The only other thing i can say with any certainty is - whatever it is, it’ll sound different at home than it does in the hifi store
I hear ya, lol! I always thought it was useless listening to Speakers in a store, pointless!
The Axioms are said to be on the brighter side of things but they aren’t to bad.
The room acoustics are pretty good, carpet, cloth shades, etc…
Not sure about the A/V though, usually run it on Direct or Pure Audio. This system will be for music first and movies second.
Ah the music is mostly rock, not much classical.
Not sure if the Onkyo is classified as bright or not. Not running an amp, just that pre-amp for phono.
Those Axioms will be neutral to bright, not so sure about that Onkyo. Older Japanese kit used to mainly sound quite warm, low end stuff grainy, transistory lol yeh i can quite often hear the output transistor switching effect cheaper A/B type amps tend to produce. Their more recent kit tends to be more in the neutral/bright range like ours is to suit modern digital mixes. This is often bad news for modern phono carts btw which is why i mentioned that lovely warm but detailed sounding Denon. Took me a lot of wasted years, effort, research and of course money to find that out.
If you have a very warm sounding system those modern carts can sound dam good btw
Well crap, lol! I’d love to get that Denon Cart and A/V but out of my range. The 705 is 12-15 yrs old, so hopefully it will warm up, maybe…
That 636 is the last Onkyo, had a 805 that wasn’t bad but sold it.
Well I guess I need to dig through the A/V forums now…Thanks for the help!
Good luck dude it’s a bit of a minefield but one i forget to mention is Grado. They have a wide range, are made in the US and tend to have a warm/ish house sound. They have a good enough reputation so might be worth considering
